Saving sea turtles in Malaysia: Current Status and Challenges

Dr. Juanita Joseph

Borneo Marine Research Institute

Dr. Juanita Joseph is one of the leading sea turtle biologist and conservationist in Southeast Asia. She had been involved in sea turtle conservation since 1996. She obtained her M.Sc. from University Putra Malaysia and Ph.D. from Royal Holloway University of London. Her research focused mainly on the nesting biology and molecular ecology of sea turtles. Dr. Joseph runs a sea turtle conservation at Redang Island (2009 – 2017), and organised many outreach programmes in Malaysia, such as the SEATRU Volunteer Programme. Working closely with the Department of Fisheries Malaysia and WWF-Malaysia, she hopes that one day the State Governments in Peninsula Malaysia will enact a legislation to ban the commercial sales of sea turtle eggs. Juanita is currently working with the Borneo Marine Research Institute of University Malaysia Sabah.